Love Is a Choice

Let's head back to that discussion at The Red Barn from earlier this week.  One woman tried to change her language, because she realized we don't use profanity.  Other players at the table (including one who said he's a Christian) pointed out cursing is commonplace at bars.

So who set the best Christian example in all of this?  If you weren't watching the table, it wouldn't be fair to jump to conclusions.  But let's use a standard written into the Bible by the apostle Paul:

Love does no harm to its neighbor.  Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. - Romans 13:10

We've heard ministers define love as an "outgoing concern" for others, away from self.  The woman who changed her language showed that way of thinking, even though she never called herself a Christian during the conversation.

On the other hand, the two players at the table who called themselves "Christians" used language during the evening which would have been censored from broadcast TV and radio years ago.  This brings to mind some more words of Paul....

Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. - I Corinthians 13:4-5

The language we use at the poker table (and in the rest of our daily lives) is primarily a matter of habit.  Certain words become so commonplace that you might have to make a special conscious effort to avoid saying them.  Yet that's what another New Testament book recommends:

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness.  Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing.  My brothers, this should not be. - James 3:9-10

We admit we've been guilty over the years of saying things which offended or upset people.  (In one workplace, all we did was quote one verse from the book of Amos -- not even saying its source.)  While attempting to avoid offense may seem like "political correctness" to some people, it's also a way to show you care about others and their feelings.